Studio Visit: Betty Kuntiwa Pumani

Betty Kuntiwa Pumani works out of Mimili Maku Arts on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in north-west South Australia. She is best known for her energetic paintings that expresses the beauty, power and resilience of the land.

Her signature reds evoke the rocky desert country of Antara and translate the unmistakable energy that runs through country.

“Tjukurpa ngayulu walkatjunu nyangatja dreaming pulka for Antara. (The story I have painted is the very important law of Antara.) My mother would always tell me: ‘You can paint this story – this story is vital and true.’ I am very proud of the Maku story and of keeping our grandmothers and grandfathers story strong. I am glad to be able to pass it down to the younger generations, teaching them that everything needs to be known.”

Above: artist Betty Kuntiwa Pumani with her work Antara, 2020. Photo: Meg Hansen. Courtesy: the artist and Mimili Maku Arts, APY Lands.

Below: Betty Kuntiwa Pumani and Marina Pumani Brown, Antara, 2021. Synthetic polymer paint on linen, 200 x 250cm. Photo: Chris Groenhout. Courtesy: the artists, Mimili Maku Arts, APY Lands and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne.

More Studio Visits from Recent issues

Studio Visit: Cat Jean Campbell

Cat Jean Campbell is a self-taught expressionist artist. Working from her studio in South Yarra, Melbourne/Naarm, her work is discovered through painting and drawing intuitive abstractions and musings on raw canvas within a muted colour palette.

Studio Visit: Angela McHugh

Angela McHugh’s portraits and landscapes explore personal connections to flora, fauna, history and place.

Studio Visit: Rose Rudd

Near a small rural town in North Canterbury, 30 minutes from Christchurch City/Ōtautahi, is where you will find Rose Rudd.

Studio visit: Java Leonard

At 22 years of age and based in Auckland/ Tāmaki Makaurau, New Zealand, Java Leonard has only ever known a life of artistic creation. 

Studio Visit: Shellie Christian

Shellie Christian is a Central Coast sculptor and ceramicist, expressing her life and soul connection with the land through earth-inspired forms.